College football brings money to the athletic department of a university. Precious little of that money actually makes it into what should be the “core brands” of a university: the service of knowledge (whether passing on old knowledge, usually called “teaching”, or uncovering new knowledge, usually called “research”, or in the case of land-grant universities which often have the most lavish football programs, spreading practical knowledge among the general populace of the state, usually called “extension”). Oh, yes, a winning season usually brings with it a slight uptick in unrestricted donations, but that is dwarfed by the donations to the athletic program per se. (I know whereof I speak: both my wife and I teach at land grant universities with big football programs — two different ones, in neighboring states — and in both cases my description holds.)
Try proposing a surcharge on athletic tickets, the proceeds of which go to fund the educational (or research) mission of the university and see how far it gets. (Hint: for an analogy, think about suggesting real deregulation of the energy industry in the Obama White House.)
BCS bowl teams are actually losing money on the bowl games.
“... little of that money actually makes it into what should be the core brands of a university...”
Wow! Let me get this straight. A football team brings in a lot of money and you think it should be “shared” with other programs like research, extension programs etc? Do you think a person earning over $150,000 should be taxed at a higher level than someone working at a car wash? Should the high income earner then have to donate their money to the car wash guy so he can “improve his life”?
When a student is looking into a college, many of those potential incoming Freshman want a University that has athletics. If they don’t play, then they want to watch. It is part of becoming “part” of the University. Watching a game brings students together at times and they become proud of their school. I’m not saying that is the only requirement for a college selection. If you want a business degree, you want to go to a school with a strong business department. However, attending some games brings out school spirit and a bit of fun in the student’s life. IMHO.